Hey there, I have never posted on these forums but popped onto the website to read a quick article & your forum was posted on the side and I clicked hoping to get some info. Obviously, I didn't ;) but what you wrote really speaks to me.

I was diagnosed probably 5 years or so ago & have been on and off Adderall since then to accomodate pregnancy & breastfeeding. My prescription has been tweaked numerous times because I feel like I never respond to it quite the same way, and we were trying to add a smidge of immediate release as well because the 15XR seems to be a tiny bit too little and the 20XR is a tiny bit too much.

Did your doc prescribe the 20mg right away, or did you build up to it?

Obviously, everyone is different, but when I was on 20mg it was obviously too much - I was sweating like a man, yelling at my kids, having a hard time sleeping, and I lost close to 40 pounds in 2 months and my skin looked terrible and my hair was falling out. My osteopath mentioned that amphetamines ramp up the system and as a result your cellular growth is sped up - so you make and shed skin cells faster, etc. - but I don't have any evidence or research to back that up.

One of the things that has happened to me since that weight loss (when I dropped the dose, I was able to put back on about 15 pounds & start looking & feeling healthy again pretty quickly) is that now I suffer from Reynaud's Syndrome, which is when your hands & feet react pretty strongly to cold sensations & your blood vessels constrict. It's wickedly painful. My psych. doc doesn't think that it's related because she'd never read or heard anything, but I definitely think it's related, and with the help of Dr. Google I have found some other folks who think it's linked, too. I try to counterbalance this with nutrition & supplements that are supposed to support cardiovascular health and this year I'm just going to invest in some good socks & fleece-lined boots and some sort of hand-warmer situation, since it's only September and I've already had 3 attacks.

I have a hard time with the idea that it is a lifelong med, too, because of that experience with the 20mg. I'm only in my 30s. This past summer I bumped my Rx down to 10XR to give my body a break since we didn't really have anywhere to be (kids @ camp, mostly) and I just made sure to pre-set my computer calendar with all sorts of alarms for paying bills, etc. I THOUGHT I was okay? But in fact although I was able to focus & stay mostly present, my impulsivity came romping back and I did a lot - A LOT - of stupid stuff. My marriage suffered, my life suffered. I'm back to the dose that helps me the best and for now I just need to suck it up. I think that if you have the resources to surround yourself with the proper support and you have a system of checks & balances in place (people who will notice if your impulsivity is kicking in, etc.) then you might be able to back off or take a break from it every now and then.

When I was first diagnosed I read something that talked about how the prescription is really helpful for a while, but that it plateaus and you need to find other methods to help. At the time, I thought that just meant I needed to learn how to balance my checkbook. But now, I'm seeing that what it means is that I need to completely re-learn how to communicate with people, how to solve problems, re-train my thinking so that I can see both the day-to-day and also the long-term aspects of any situation. I'm hoping this fall to find a good therapist who can help me with these things and who is covered by insurance.

Re: your question about withdrawl - my first doc claimed that if you really need Adderall, that you wouldn't experience withdrawl symptoms. I haven't found that to be the case. I kind of feel like...if you really need it, you won't ever feel the need to have MORE. It's not like someone who is taking ampetamines & gets a rush & then they come to tolerate it & need a bigger dose to feel the same way. If anything, I have wanted to take LESS than my optimal dosage but have never wanted to take more. When I stopped taking it cold-turkey at one point when we were changing insurance coverage, I did have some symptoms of withdrawl - one of which was depression, which was something I'd never experienced before.

It's tricky. I hope you have a doc that listens to your concerns and will work with you to find something that works best for you.

Good luck!

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Thanks so much for your reply. Your situation definitely helps bring more perspective to my own :) To answer your question, yes, my psych prescribed me the 20 mg right away. However, I got dx with ADHD before we relocated (husband is in the military) by an absolutely wonderful LMFT but of course he couldn't prescribe meds. So when we got here, I changed PCM's (primary care managers) and unfortunately, my psychiatrist who prescribes meds, well, thats kind of all that she does. I spend five minutes with her at the max sometimes. She works around my dosage concerns well but is not very personable about answering these type of questions that I have. So, I'm looking now for a reliable psychologist or some good group therapy classes on base. They have some great emotional balancing classes here I think would help.

My LMFT I mentioned earlier, he actually has ADHD too (combination type). It was nice to have something in common with him :) He told me how he used to be on meds for it too but weaned himself off "cold turkey" by taking certain vitamins and supplements (B-Complex, Omega-3's, etc.) throughout his tx. But also, it took a LOT of brain power for him and a lot of hard work. What I took away most from our conversation about having Adult ADHD is that often, he finds that those who overcome ADHD naturally, are high-functioning and "special" as he was putting it. Perhaps it takes overcoming something that large inside your brain to ignite something larg-er :) Either way, its comforting to think about. But yeah, he and I both were not against meds, just a bit wayward when it comes to being on it "for life." In fact, meds can be helpful in teaching you the "right way" after doing it so long the alternative way, because then once off of them, you have guidelines to follow.

So creating a med journal might a good idea too if one is looking to be off an ADD or ADHD med someday. That way, you could look back and say, "Hey this is how I acted on the med. If I can force myself to do it off of the med (harder yes but not impossible) then I don't really need to be taking it everyday. But I am thankful for the ways in which it taught me."

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Hi....I too take Adderall, and because of a mix-up with my insurance company, I was without for almost two weeks. I was seeing a difference being without it...I found that I was retreating back to certain counter-productive behaviors. I haven't been on it all that long (approx. 6 months) and I must say, I prefer to stay with it. Things aren't going to improve overnight. However, now that I know what its like with and without it, I prefer to stay with it. I'm still not where I want to be, but I will get there and if it takes medication for the rest of my life, so be it. It is better than the way I was before I was diagnosed ADHD!

I hope this helps!

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Hi, I wanted to respond to your question as a parent. My 15 year old has been on Adderall XR for 5 years. I do go to half doses for a month each summer(and it is tough), but otherwise, we have had good results from this med. We tried many before we decided that this, while not perfect, is the best fit. In addition to meds, we try to avoid sugars, white flours, and caffeine. We also make sure he gets 8+ hours sleep, eats plenty of proteins and also takes a Brain Booster from Focus Factor(only a few weeks so don't know if much benefit yet). I wish you the best of luck. Don't let this condition determine your future. Just another obstacle to face life is full of them!

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Hi, I started with Adderall (10mg and ramped up to 20mg) and pretty much hated it.... too "speedy" for me. Then I change to Vyvanse, which at first I found miraculously better - I could both eat and sleep, and I felt calm and focused. However, its effectiveness kind of wore off over 3-4 months... I ended up taking Adderall again due to insurance coverage issues, and mistakenly told my (new) doctor I had been on 25mg before - my pharmacist pointed it out when I got the new Adderall Rx filled. To my surprise, I found 25mg MUCH more effective than the previous 20mg, and more effective than the Vyvanse as well! It's funny that the 20mg made me feel speedy, edgy, never hungry, and never tired - but the 25mg makes me feel 'normal.' As I'm still in the first year after diagnosis and trying to find the right medication, I gather this is why doctors do experiment with dosage levels... in my case at least, a higher dosage seemed to be the right level for my brain, where lower level just made me feel like I was on speed. That being said, it's not a miracle solution, and I still have lots of behavioural work to do.... but it does help.

I certainly don't want to be taking medication for life... My general plan is to get myself to the point where the medication is helping, find a coach or therapist to help me behaviourly, and get myself 'stable.' I go to a naturopathic doctor and I take supplements as well (Omega3s, B6, etc). I generally eat nutritionally, but I am trying to improve lifestyle factors such as reducing carbs/sugar, increasing exercise, and resolving sleep issues. Hope all of this only takes a year or two, and then I will wean myself off the ADD medication.

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1st. I am one of those OCD types of ADD'ers. And I am of the hyperactive side of the ADD family. That being said, I found Vyvanse, Focalin XR, bits of dex as add-ons to Adderall not be that effective. Doc's suggestions its b/c the "noreppie" in Adderall (i.e. the kick) that hyperactive types sometimes need. I guess they say that's why the hypers have more success with the Adderalls. My experience on Vyvanse and Focalin XR was ... "I felt like I had ADD" That's basically how I felt on that stuff.

As for the W/D one of you spoke off. When I finally committed to the Adderall family, due to insurance issues, I went with the IR. Then once it went generic -- XR. I loved XR - mostly b/c I didn't have to wrry about taking/ missing a dose. However, what I soon learned (and my doc confirmed) was that XR made me more irritable and I had more trouble sleeping. He said the "irritableness" is something he has noticed with XR, and as for the sleeping issue -- here is what he said -- Said that XR stays in your body longer (even though it may not be effective enough to truly "work") where as, when IR stops working, it's done. So what happens to us XR types is...need to take more XR. But when you do that...that's more of a build up to make those times when it was "half-a$$" working better...but now it stays in your system longer = less sleep.

I recently went back to IR and I have noticed that I am not as irritable and I can now go to bed at a decent hour. And, no W/D like (or drop-off) symptoms. Not sure if that helps anybody, but maybe going back to IR and taking it a few times a day as opposed to one strong XR dose may be a worthwhile endeavor. And, it's cheaper.

And, just to throw it out there b/c I could not find anything on it when I tried it -- I was on strattera for awhile. I didn't really like it Had some weird sexual side-effects and really didn't do much to assist ADD. What it did do and did it well...it made me much more "sweeter". Doc said that latter effect is a consistent one. It was weird. All of a sudden, I started to feel like a "chick". My woman therapist said to me, "now you know what women feel like." I laughed. It was decent but didn't accomplish what I wanted ... and I think what we all want... One thing that we have to take that we just take once a day and don't have to worry about it other than that.

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I tried Adderal XR for a little while a few years ago. I can't speak to long-term effects, but I can tell you that it sent my blood pressure through the roof (and I don't normally have a problem with blood pressure). It got to the point that my whole face and ears would feel like they were on fire. I felt like I was going to have a stroke. My doctor took me off of it after a few weeks.

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For quite a while, I have taken Adderall XR in the morning and (generic) Adderall (non-XR) in the afternoons. My pharmacy was having trouble obtaining the Adderall XR for a while and I started taking the short-acting pills morning and afternoon, and found that they worked better for me with fewer side effects, so I changed my prescription and now take the non-XR.

One of the big differences between ADDs who take amphetamines and addicts is the lack of "drug-seeking behavior" in patients who actually need the meds. I have taken some kind of stimulant for 10 years now and have never tried to increase my dose, since there I get no "high" from it. I have switched between Ritalin and Adderall when one seems to stop being as effective. Also, it does take some tinkering to get the dosage right. You can't base it on size or weight as with many meds, because everyone's brain and needs are different. I have read that children sometimes require a bigger dose than large adults. Like everybody else, I don't like the idea of taking medicine "forever" but I realize that people who take drugs for diabetes or heart conditions or a host of other medical issues never worry about taking them forever. If you need it, you need it. I think it's the leftover stigma about "mental conditions" that worry a lot of us about remaining on drugs, even when we realize that they are helping us to cope with life a lot better.

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I was on Adderall XR for about two years. Never particularly liked it--prefer short blasts because of a glazed over feeling on XR type meds but my shrink insisted on XR. Two years in I developed a V-fib cardiac arrhythmia that nearly killed me. I was, of course, taken off Adderall XR in the hospital where I received an ICD (implanted cardioverter defibrillator). I was put on some cardio meds with anti-arrhythmic properties. I have had one early zap ('fib) as doses were adjusted and a couple of uneventful pacings, but since May 2008 I have had no arrhythmic episodes. I found it disturbing to read web sites on this medication and death, but once I read the fine print on the insert "has been associated with sudden cardiac deaths," I came to believe my arrhythmia was likely brought on by Adderall XR. The med I take is the only one my electro-physiologist approves, Provigil. I'm sure there are many with long term experience without adverse effects but I advocate at least annual EKGs for this drug.

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I have been taking Adderall for 11 years. For the past five of those years I have been taking Adderall XR 20mg once a day. I've found that the long term symptoms are different for everyone, but the main ones that I experienced and others have experienced are: -Withdrawal symptoms when off it more than a day. -The effectiveness of the drug wears down over time. -A huge increase in appetite when off of the drug (almost like a lack of ability to sense when you are full, so you keep wanting more food).

I hope that helps :)

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TolkienGirl20 said: I have been taking Adderall for 11 years. For the past five of those years I have been taking Adderall XR 20mg once a day. I've found that the long term symptoms are different for everyone, but the main ones that I experienced and others have experienced are: -Withdrawal symptoms when off it more than a day. -The effectiveness of the drug wears down over time. -A huge increase in appetite when off of the drug (almost like a lack of ability to sense when you are full, so you keep wanting more food).

I hope that helps :)

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